Amid the renewed crisis in the Labour Party, the national chairman, Julius Abure has fingered Pastor Ituah Ighodalo and Aisha Yesufu of squandering Peter Obi’s presidential campaign funds.
Recall that in February 2023, the National Treasurer of the LP, Mrs. Oluchi Oparah accused Abure of mismanaging N3.5bn raised from the sale of nomination forms and fundraising activities in the build-up to the 2023 general election.
She also went on Arise Television’s ‘Good Morning Show’, to allege that the Abure-led NWC was working hand-in-hand with the Edo State Government and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the September 2024 Governorship polls.
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She was later suspended by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the LP for six months for allegedly dragging the party’s name into the mud.
However, Abure speaking on the accusation for the first time during a press briefing after the party’s National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja on Monday, September 9, 2024, said the party was not involved in the handling of finances for the presidential campaign in 2023.
He said; “The funding of the election itself was carried out by Peter Obi; the party was never involved in the distribution of those resources. We followed them sheepishly and allowed them to administer the campaign funds.”
He further said that as per the donation, the party was not involved in the collection of any campaign donations, adding that the signatories to these accounts were Aisha Yesufu and Pastor Itua Ighodalo.
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“They were equally responsible for the payment of Polling Unit Agents,” he said.
According to Abure, the account name for the funds is OBI/BABA-AHMED CAMPAIGN and the bank accounts used in receiving the funds include; Zenith Bank – 1241950451; Sterling Bank – 0091657896; Heritage Bank – 1400234900; and Globus Bank – 1000128194.
The funding of the election itself was carried out by Peter Obi; the party was never involved in the distribution of those resources. We followed them sheepishly and allowed them to administer the campaign funds – Julius Abure made clarification on the allegations that the… pic.twitter.com/KbQmyO99bi
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) September 9, 2024
“The party never bothered to pay its agents, the lists were handed over to the campaign council and to those who were administering these funds. Consequently, it is mischievous for any person to accuse me and the party of mismanaging these funds. At no time was the party involved in these financial transactions,” he clarified.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Fund Raising Team of the Obi-Datti Campaign Organization, Aisha Yesufu, who rendered an account of funds raised and spent during the campaign, explained that a total of N595,976,994.00 was received from Nigerians as donations.
She, however, explained that there were over N744,500,000.00 in litigations over the 2023 presidential election.
Yesufu said, “Accountability and transparency are very critical and important; that is why we asked people to donate so that we could come back to them to explain how their money was judiciously used.
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“ We thank everyone who donated in cash and kindness. From the donations from citizens, we received N595,976,994.
“This is the money we raised from the four accounts that we have talked about. We also received N800,000,000 from the candidate himself (Peter Obi).
“We designed a strategic blueprint focused on channeling the movement energy and support for Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed with different support groups.
“We provided direct and indirect support to over a hundred support groups across all 36 states in Nigeria. We also deployed media-related campaigns that reached over 11 million people, leveraging over 40 radio stations, community outreach, and social media.
“We would have loved to use televisions and all of that, but because of our financial constraints, we were mindful of being judicious in our usage of the funds that we received.
“So, out of these things, campaign materials worth N258,374,330.00 were procured and distributed across the 36 States and also in Abuja. Media and radio broadcasting was at the cost of N16,432,867.00.
“For the election promotion expenses, we had N10,808,948.00. For Polling Unit Agents, we spent N324,381,700.00. And then, of course, we had bank charges of N1,750,544.00. We also had administrative charges of N477,000.00.”
She further said, “We deployed N744,500,000.00 to cover legal expenses. And then, in campaign and election activities, we had over N28,500,000.00. On the issue of legal fees, remember what I said earlier: We had N800,000,000.00 that the candidate himself brought.”
The fresh crisis in the Labour Party started on August 29, 2024, when Nenadi Usman, a former senator, was appointed to lead a 29-member national caretaker committee after Governor Alex Otti convened a stakeholders meeting of the party in Abia.
Peter Obi, LP presidential candidate in 2023, and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate, attended the meeting.
However, in a communique signed by Abure, and National Secretary, Umar Ibrahim, the NEC nullified the decision taken at the stakeholders meeting convened by Otti in Umuahia.
The Abure-led NEC maintained that there was no vacuum in the leadership of the party after “conducting its National Convention in line with its constitution, the Electoral Act and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on March 27, 2024, at Nnewi Anambra State.”
It consequently called on the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, “to stop aiding and abetting the Governor of Abia State Alex Otti to further cause damage to the party.
Callistus Okafor who leads another faction of the party has also rejected the Usman-led committee.
Okafor has argued that there is a subsisting order of court that makes him the acting chair of the party.
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